BACKGROUND

The use of complementary integrative medicine (CIM) by cancer patients is currently very common. The main reasons why patients turn to CIM are to improve quality of life (QoL) and support the immune system. Unfortunately, many patients rely on CIM self-prescription, neglecting the risk of interactions with anticancer treatments (ACTs). The primary objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of combining CIM and ACT in a multidisciplinary approach to improve the QoL of cancer patients and to reduce ACT's adverse events.

METHODS

Cancer patients were treated with CIM by expert physicians. CIM mainly consisted of vitamins C and D, the medicinal mushrooms blend U-CARE, and probiotics administered alone or in combination. The patients were followed-up by physicians and data were recorded in a detailed shared file.

RESULTS

A total of 54 cancer patients were treated with an integrative approach, especially during ACTs. The combination showed a good safety profile. No adverse events occurred in 92.6% of patients, whereas only 7.4% of patients experienced gastrointestinal or liver toxicity from the CIM approach. The main benefit of the CIM approach was improved fatigue and QoL, and this was mainly achieved by the concomitant use of polytherapy-based complementary medicine (PCM) and U-CARE. The toxicity improvement was mainly associated with the use of solely U-CARE.

CONCLUSIONS

These results highlight the feasibility of the CIM approach in cancer patients addressed by a multidisciplinary team of experts in the field. The patient-centered and evidence-based approach of CIM is an example of the comprehensive and coordinated strategy pursued by the EU in its programmatic document against cancer aiming to focus on the QoL of patients and to avoid potentially harmful CIM self-prescription.